Ouyi: Subterranean City of Ancient Persia
- Ingenia
- Jul 29
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 30
The underground city of Ouyi in Noushabad, Iran showcases the enduring collective spirit of a civilization through epistemes and dynasties.
Archaeologists estimate that the underground city of Ouyi, built during the Sasanian era and expanded through the post-Islamic period, covers an area of about 15,000 square meters and stretches beneath the entire town of Noushabad, Iran.
Residents of Noushabad could enter Ouyi through ‘qanats’ (wells) or narrow tunnels running under homes and gardens. Beyond providing relief from the intense desert heat, the chambers allowed residents to move through the city without encountering potential enemies.
Access to these tunnels was ingeniously hidden in the kitchens of the town's wealthier residents, either behind ovens or camouflaged with a pan to mislead intruders. The spaces of the underground city of Ouyi connected these homes to social centers in Noushabad and a fortress situated just outside the town.
As time passed, the city's layout expanded both horizontally and vertically. It includes winding pathways, some leading to dead ends, providing diversions to safeguard the inhabitants. Hidden pits and obstacles served as defensive traps.
The impressive underground city appears to have been built to accommodate a large number of people, possibly the entire population of Noushabad, for an extended period. Vertical tunnels connecting three levels of pathways facilitated the circulation of fresh air deep underground. The ventilation system, operating through vertical tunnels, relied on the pressure differences between the indoor and outdoor air.
In addition to ventilation, the design includes notable innovations to make the underground city habitable, such as water supplied through qanat channels and small grooves in the walls for tallow-burning lamps.
While much about the ancient society of Ouyi has been lost to time, the presence of entrances in some houses to the underground network, which linked to social centers—such as the bathhouse, mosque, bazaar, and a fortress outside Noushabad—reflects a community deeply connected through shared experience and resilience.
Today, Ouyi stands as a testament to ancient innovation—a city carved from necessity, hidden in plain sight, and preserved beneath the sands of time.
Works Cited:
Hashemi, S. “The Architecture of Underground Dwellings in Iran.” Tunnels and Underground Cities, Engineering and Innovation Meet Archaeology, Architecture and Art: Proceedings of the WTC 2019 ITA-AITES World Tunnel Congress (WTC 2019), May 3-9, 2019, Naples, Italy, by Daniele Peila et al., CRC Press, 2019, pp. 77–78.
Montazerolhodjah, M, et al. “Urban Underground Development; an Overview of
Historical Underground Cities in Iran.” International Journal of Architectural Engineering and Urban Planning, vol. 24, no. 1, June 2015.
Perikhanian, Anahit. “Iranian Society and Law.” Cambridge University Press, 1983, pp. 631–634.